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There were times in recent years when things were getting a little crazy with the Maple Leafs, the media heat was set on high and Dave Nonis would be at his West Coast home or somewhere around the world beating the bushes for talent.

Sometimes, he would muse, it’s not a bad thing to be pretty much anywhere else other than Toronto.

Not just to dodge the bullets, but being outside of this hockey obsessed burg allowed a fellow to think more clearly sometimes, get a little perspective.

Well, those days are gone. With the Leafs set to play their home opener on Mon. Jan. 21 against Buffalo, Nonis is now at the centre of the hurricane. That stunned look on his face as he sat alongside Tom Anselmi on Wednesday was genuine, and not just because he had just agreed to take over running the Leafs from his long-time friend and associate Brian Burke.

The quiet life is now over for Nonis. His family, now located in the New England area, is at least closer as he takes the reins, but both his professional and personal lives are about to take a major jolt.

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He’s done it before, of course, running the Vancouver Canucks from 2004 to 2008, putting together some of the major pieces that ended up helping the Canucks reach the 2011 Stanley Cup.

For Leaf fans who have been frustrated by the team’s goaltending since Ed Belfour left town, perhaps most encouraging would be Nonis’s record in acquiring netminders. He drafted Cory Schneider (26th overall, 2004) and traded for Roberto Luongo. If he can replicate that kind of success in identifying quality masked men here in Toronto, he’ll find the going a lot easier.

He lost that job in Vancouver when he couldn’t convince skeptical owner Francesco Aquilini that his plan for the team was the right one. On the last day, Nonis spent three hours defending his record, but Aquilini — who had finally cemented his control of the organization that year — didn’t like the results after missing the playoffs in two of the three previous years and didn’t much like the team’s defensive style under Alain Vigneault.

Style. There’s that word again.

This time it’s Nonis getting the job because Burke’s personal style didn’t mesh well with new owners of MLSE. Like Aquilini in Vancouver, it’s pretty clear the Rogers/Bell ownership tandem is likely to be active, very different from the way in which the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund sat quietly by during most of Burke’s tenure in Toronto.

So as he takes over the Leafs, Nonis has to be wondering if he’ll get a fair shot at turning this club into a winner.

He’s not likely to make dramatic alterations in the overall philosophy and approach. In fact, he was often the voice of caution with Burke, constantly pushing the agenda to go younger and avoid short-term infusions of talent.

Rogers and Bell, however, may have something more aggressive in mind. They bought this sports property to supply rich content for their broadcast outlets, and non-playoff teams without big-name stars make it hard to attract eyeballs and attentive ears.

Some are already suggesting that if Nonis can’t get the team to the post-season this year, he won’t be around in the fall, which would almost be as ridiculous as firing Burke on the eve of this season.

The beauty of the Burke years is that he had full rein to do what he wanted with the club. If trades were made or the roster was altered, you knew the responsibility lay with Burke.

Now, after Wednesday’s bizarre happenings, nobody’s quite sure whether Nonis and the hockey department will enjoy that same independence. Right now, it feels a little like when John Ferguson Jr. took over. Ferguson was forced to accept Pat Quinn as his coach, and as the ice melted under his feet over the following seasons, it seemed more and more that president Richard Peddie and the MLSE board were becoming increasingly involved in the decision-making process.

Interestingly, Nonis was one of the people interviewed by Toronto lawyer Gord Kirke back in the spring/summer of 2008 when Kirke headed a GM search committee for the Leafs. Ultimately, Nonis’s suggestion that the proper approach would likely mean another four or five years out of post-season play didn’t appeal to the Leafs, and in November the team hired Burke.

Well, Nonis’s philosophies haven’t changed, and it’s unlikely he will look at the current Leaf roster and depth chart and see this team as a piece or two away from being a contender.

If he wants to take the slow and steady approach and ownership just wants a playoff date or two, there could be a conflict here.

We’ll see. Maybe Bell and Rogers will back off now, do the right thing and let Nonis do the job.

It’s going to be challenging enough without interference from the top.

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